So Here's Our Deal...

We love bikes! They're fun to ride and an excellent way to get around. But did you know bamboo makes bikes even better?

Bamboo = Performance

Bamboo is like 'whoa!' when it comes to making great bikes. Especially the species that we use, Vietnamese Tam Vong. It's nicknamed 'Iron Bamboo' because it is the strongest, densest species of bamboo in the world (there are 2,000 species). Not all bamboos are created equal (just like wood), and we've got the good stuff!

Why do we make bikes out of bamboo? PERFORMANCE. Bamboo is strong, light, stiff, and dampens vibrations really well, making it an excellent material for bikes.

An Aluboo frame absorbs roughness in the road and the trail unlike any other bike on the market, but it’s still strong, light, and stiff. Our Boo race bikes have long benefitted from bamboo’s ability to absorb vibration–but custom handmade carbon fiber and bamboo frames are pricey.

That's why we are building the Aluboo–to bring the performance benefits of our custom Boo race bikes to many more riders.

As Versatile as a Swiss Army Knife

We grow bikes, and we want your Aluboo to grow with you.

We also don't think you should need to have three different frames if you want to run a few different setups with your bike.

That's why we designed the Aluboo to be SUPER-versatile. Chain or belt-drive, compatible with road caliper and disc brakes, room for bigger tires, three different hub spacings, cable guides and fender/rack mounts galore–Aluboo can do it all!

120mm spacing (track, single-speed, or fixed-gear setup)

130mm spacing (road/urban/cyclocross setup)

135mm spacing (internally-geared hub setup)

Derailleur hanger, or no hanger

Rear disc brake mount or standard road caliper

Breakable, so you can ditch the chain for a belt drive–no lubrication and no mess!

Other awesome features:

Clearance for up to 40mm cyclocross/touring tires

Fender mounts front and rear

Rack mounts–carry a huge load with pannier bags

Removable cable guides for front and rear derailleurs and rear brake

Road caliper and disc brake mounts

Full belt drive compatibility, up to a 50t front Gates CenterTrack ring

Easier on the Planet to Build

Production sample Aluboos

Iron Bamboo has recorded over three feet of growth in a single day, and it only requires water, sunlight, and soil to grow. It’s a grass that naturally grows back after being harvested. It prevents soil erosion, does not contribute to soil depletion like many other crops, and is one of the most efficient means of sequestering carbon dioxide known to man.

We use aluminum because it is the easiest metal to recycle and is strong, stiff, and light.

Aluboo is an incredible bike on its own, but when the whole picture is taken into account, you can feel good about buying one, too. That's because it is more sustainable to build than most bikes on the road today.

Our Experience

The Boo/Aluboo crew, 2013 North American Handmade Bike Show

How do we know what we're doing? We build Boo Bicycles, the highest performance bamboo racing bikes in the world. Our team has more than 60 combined years of experience engineering, building, riding, and racing bikes. And we don't like to brag, but we've won awards and races (see how we humblebragged, that? Boom!).

Why Kickstarter?

Filming for 'The Aluboo Story'

Why are we doing a Kickstarter project? We want the Aluboo dream to become a reality because of our supporters, not a bank.

And, to be honest, it's all on the table with Kickstarter–without a successful project Aluboo won't happen. We've cobbled together some money for development up to this point, but we're boot-strapping and things will get tight real fast without a funded project.

James and Nick have spent thousands of hours designing, engineering, and testing these bikes, and Drew has become a novice video editor and pro insomniac in preparation for Kickstarter.

Featuring SRAM's Automatix 2-speed internally-geared hub, this Aluboo looks like a single speed but it has a secret! Without cables, shifters, or levers, this bike will automatically shift to its rear hub's higher gear at around 11mph! How cool is that? Perfect for someone who needs a little more speed than one gear can provide.

Featuring a Shimano Alfine 8-speed internally-geared hub (all the gears are inside the rear hub!) and a Gates Carbon Drive belt-system, this Aluboo is game for everything from around-town commuting to tackling gnarly mountains with its 307% gear range, and everywhere in between!

Risks and challenges

We have finalized our design, built one Aluboo prototype in each size to confirm, and machined multiple sets of our dropouts for testing. Nick is a mechanical engineer and professional cyclist, James is an industrial designer, and both have been through the designs with a fine-toothed comb. Combined with over four years of experience building custom race bikes with Boo, we are very confident in our product.

We want to be upfront though and mention that there are number of risks and challenges we will face with our first large-scale production run of Aluboo frames.

James is based in Vietnam. Enough said. Don't worry–he has Skype and dial-up internet ;)

Once our aluminum lugs are manufactured and pass QC checks, James will build the Aluboo frames at his shop. This entails him having enough bamboo of the right size and age.

Good thing he harvested a bunch of excellent tubes from his exclusive plantation months ago!

He'll then start hand-chiseling and fitting the tubes, securing the tubes in the frame using our trade-secret process, and clear-coating the frames for protection. The frames will then be shipped to Aluboo headquarters in Colorado–which can be delayed. We should be cool here too–James and our partners have experience with shipping, import/export, and so on.

Then we have to build up all these frames into complete bikes! That means our crew will be assembling, packing, and shipping your bikes to your doorsteps.

So, it will be a bit of a delay for you to get your new shiny Aluboo, but aren't you glad we handle all those logistics?

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,495 or more
About $2,495

THE BRECKENRIDGE EXPERIENCE: This package includes airfare (within US), 4 nights lodging, great times, and bike tours of Colorado's Summit County and Front Range with Aluboo cofounders Nick Frey and Drew Haugen. Did we mention the kegerator and the hot tub? (Limited to US residents only).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,495 or more
About $3,495

THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE: Want to ride with the Bamboo Master himself? This package includes airfare, lodging in Vietnam, and bike rides with Aluboo builder James Wolf! Tour the shop, see the city, and ride through the countryside with the man who made your bike–pretty cool huh?